Recognizing that he might have experience dealing with some of the problems Manziel is currently going through, Newton has reportedly reached out to the pride of College Station a few times this offseason.

As reported by the Associated Press, via ESPN, Newton can relate to some of Manziel's struggles.

Newton led Auburn to the BCS National Championship in 2010 and won the Heisman that same year. He has experience in bursting onto the college football scene and gaining worldwide fame in a very short amount of time.

Manziel, meanwhile, went from redshirt freshman to college football icon in just a few short weeks; some of his Heisman highlights include taking down No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa and leading the Aggies to a Cotton Bowl win over Oklahoma.

Both SEC stars have also drawn the ire of the NCAA.

The governing body cleared Auburn of any wrongdoing with respect to Newton's recruitment in October of 2011, 13 months after originally opening up an investigation. Although his NCAA issue was completely different, Newton understands that signing autographs as a college student can be a dangerous game.

Per the AP story:

"For any college athlete you are vulnerable to so many things, you think everybody loves you for who you are...When I was there at college so many people wanted from me and I wanted to give so much," Newton said. "Like I would sign this and give my time and this, this and that. And nobody was looking at it through my [eyes].

"If you say no to this particular person you are going to be a [jerk]. You are going to be the person that people look at as, 'What's up? We came out here and supported you and cheered for you and you can't sign an autograph?' Never mind that you signed 300 other autographs before. But that's the nature of the beast."

Newton was also quoted by the AP as saying that Manziel "has to go through these types of situations to know how to handle them in the future."

It might not be the friendliest of advice, but given the circumstances, it doesn't appear Manziel has much of a choice.

ESPN reported on Tuesday that Manziel received $7,500 for signing helmets during a January autograph session. It was the latest bit of information that points to the NCAA opening up an investigation based on claims that Manziel has received improper benefits as a college student.

Dan Wolken of USA Today reported on Monday night that Texas A&M has already reached out to the same law firm that represented Newton as legal counsel for the Manziel situation.

On the field, few have the stats to stand with Manziel and Newton. Off the field, though, each has had his share of difficulty staying out of the public eye. In the last seven months, no college football player has been in the news more than Manziel.